Session Descriptions

Explore the power of Google tools you can use to grow your GIS toolkit. These sessions are designed for attendees who are GIS or mapping specialists and developers.

Advanced Google Earth for GIS Specialists

Presented by Karin Tuxen-Bettman

Learn about the advanced features of Google Earth (and Earth Pro), such as importing and visualizing GIS datasets (vector & raster), animating GPS data, calculating viewsheds, creating and generating movies of tours and more. The session will also briefly cover KML coding for advanced visualization and content creation, depending on the skills levels and interest of the attendees.

Prerequisites: Previous experience in both Google Earth and GIS is required.

Fusion Tables for GIS Practitioners

Presented by Alta de Vos

In this session, we’ll introduce you to Google Fusion Tables, a tool to help you host, visualize and publish your tabular data as interactive maps and visualizations for the web. We'll highlight the features of Fusion Tables that we think are most useful to folks working with GIS data and share lessons learned about managing GIS data and Fusion Tables.

Open Data Kit is open source software for collecting survey data in the field. Learn how to create forms using XLS form schema. Explore using ODK Collect with basic geospatial functionality and learn about storing your data in Google Sheets. Then, we'll make simple maps from the field data.

Prerequisites: None

Open Data Kit for GIS Specialists Part 2

Presented by Tanya Birch

We'll take our ODK field data and import it into Google Fusion Tables and Google Earth Engine for analysis. We will also explore other visualization tools.

Prerequisites: Open Data Kit for GIS Specialists Part 1

Intro to Remote Sensing for GIS Specialists

Presented by Karin Tuxen-Bettman

Earth Engine is Google's geo analysis platform. This session introduces the concept of remote sensing and image analysis relatively quickly, and then goes into the Earth Engine platform and the tools available for browsing Earth Engine's data catalog and performing analyses on the data. This session is intended for first-time users of Earth Engine and newcomers to remote sensing, but with some experience in GIS. We will first focus on the Explorer, and will touch briefly on the Code Editor at the end. We'll show you how to bring in some of your own GIS data to use in your geospatial analysis. We'll also show how you can bring data from the field into Earth Engine for validation of a landcover classification. And we'll give you hands-on practice with adding UI elements to your code. This session is intended to ramp up GIS Specialists up to start using the power that Earth Engine brings to your project.

Prerequisites: Absolutely none, but some experience with geospatial analysis in preferred.

Earth Engine 101 for GIS Specialists

Presented by David Thau

This session picks up where the "Intro to Remote Sensing for GIS Specialists" session stopped - at the Earth Engine Code Editor. The Code Editor gives you access to over 800 geospatial operations which you can apply to your own data, and to the imagery in the Earth Engine data catalog. You will learn how to access imagery, create composites, run analyses over stacks of images, compute statistics, create charts, and export the results of your analyses. You will also learn all the JavaScript you'll need to know to become an Earth Engine API expert.

Prerequisites: Intro to Remote Sensing for GIS Specialists

Earth Engine User Interface API

Presented by Andrew Chang and Lauren Scott

The Earth Engine User Interface API makes it possible to construct graphical interfaces for your Earth Engine scripts. You can compose apps using simple input widgets like buttons and checkboxes, more complex widgets like charts and maps, panels to control the layout of the UI, and event handlers for interactions between UI widgets. In this session we'll introduce the basic API and walk through an example together.

Prerequisites: EE 101 or some familiarity with Earth Engine preferred.

Earth Engine Import, Export & Render

Presented by Chris Herwig

This session will cover how users can bring their own vector/raster data into Earth Engine and the different ways users can take the results of their analyses out of Earth Engine.

Prerequisites: EE 101 or equivalent experience.

My First Maps API

Presented by Christiaan Adams

Take "baby steps" into the Google Maps API world. In this session, you'll create a "Hello World" Maps API webpage, and will learn how to do things like change the options (background map type, initial location, etc.), overlay data and KML layers, and start to showcase your first Earth Engine maps. While this is taught for non-programmers by a non-programmer, we will work with snippets of code copied-and-pasted from the developers.google.com website.

This session is an a tour of functionality from selected portions of the API. The Reducers, Joins, Charts and Arrays packages will be covered.

Prerequisites: EE 101 or equivalent experience.

Maps API Challenges

Presented by Jordon Mears

Sharpen your Javascript and Maps API coding skills through a series coding challenges using the Google Maps Javascript API. This course starts with some basics of Javascript and Maps API and quickly delves into more advanced parts of the API including Geocoding, Places, DataLayer and ElevationService. Writing code is big part of this course.

In this session, you'll learn about successful examples of Earth Engine analyses that were made into public-facing applications. We'll focus on ways to turn your analysis into something non-specialists can view, understand, and become informed by. In addition to highlighting successful case studies of applications, we'll also cover the latest features in Earth Engine to help you turn your analysis into an effective agent of change.

Prerequisites: Some familiarity with Earth Engine preferred.

STREAM: GOOGLE MAPPING FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

Do you find yourself frequently creating and using maps for your projects, to maintain or deploy operations, understand issues and make decisions? These sessions are designed for attendees who don’t necessarily have a background in GIS, but have become the de facto mapping person at their organization.

Building 3D Maps with Google Earth

Presented by Raleigh Seamster

This session will teach you how to build your own maps on Google's 3D virtual globe, Google Earth. We'll start by learning how to navigate and change preferences, and you'll be guided through exploring the built-in content. Next we’ll explore some of Google Earth’s best tools, such as the historical imagery slider and teach you about the creation GUIs that allow you to create your own visualizations. We'll end by showing you how to import other geo datasets into Earth such as historical maps, GPS and GIS data.

In this session, you will learn how to use My Maps to easily create and collaborate on maps with your colleagues and project stakeholders. We will learn how to include add other types of project data to your map, such as spreadsheets and KML. To wrap up the session, we’ll have a “show and tell” of how other organizations are using My Maps to help manage their projects.

Prerequisites: A Google account

Managing and Merging Data with Fusion Tables

Presented by Vanessa Schneider

In this workshop, we’ll introduce you to Google Fusion Tables, a tool to help you host, visualize and publish your spreadsheet data as interactive maps for the web. The session will start with a brief overview of Fusion Tables and examples of how the tool’s being used for mapping. Then we’ll dive into demos to get you familiar with how easily your data can be turned into a visualization with impact.

Prerequisites: Make sure you have a Google account (https://accounts.google.com/signup) and are familiar with Google Drive.

Introduction to Open Data Kit Platform

Presented by Allie

Open Data Kit is a set of tools that allows you to collect field data, such as text, photos/videos, and GPC location from an Android device where there's no internet connection and then publish that data to the web when you're back online. We will learn about some existing use cases and the go out into the field for a fun collect. Once you've gathered your data, we will map and visualize them as a group.

Prerequisites: None

Create Survey Forms for Open Data Kit

Presented by Allie

You know a little about ODK or have been a user of it, now it is time to learn how to create custom forms. In this class, we’ll explore two tools, an extremely simple web form, and a powerful spreadsheet based tool that allows for skip logic and more complex design.

Prerequisites: Introduction to ODK Platform or equivalent experience. You must have a Google account. If you have an Android device, please install ODK Collect from Google Play.

New ODK Collect Features

Presented by Tanya Birch

Now that you know a little about ODK, learn how to use Google Drive to store your forms and your form submissions. You'll create spreadsheets that users of your ODK form will submit all their data to. We'll also explore some of the other latest features of ODK Collect: HTML forms & geowidgets.

Prerequisites: Introduction to ODK Platform and Create Survey Forms for Open Data Kit, or equivalent experience

Setting up your ODK project using Aggregate

Presented by Raleigh Seamster

You know a little about ODK or have been a user of it, but how do you set up your own project? In this session, we’ll learn how to set up and administer your ODK project on Google App Engine using ODK Aggregate.

Prerequisites: Introduction to ODK Platform and Create Survey Forms for Open Data Kit, or equivalent experience. You’ll also need a Google account, Java application (www.java.com/en/download) and ODK Aggregate (opendatakit.org/downloads) downloaded to your laptop. If you have an Android device, please install ODK Collect from Google Play.

ODK Special: A Story, Future of ODK & Office Hours

Facilitated by Tanya Birch

Hear a special presentation on ODK with Dr. Lilian Pintea, the Jane Goodall Institute, followed by a discussion of ODK's future by cofounder Yaw Anokwa. We'll have open signups for Office Hours with Yaw Anokwa via video and Tanya Birch. Please sign up on the Office Hours section of the Summit website.

Prerequisites: None

Leveraging Satellite Imagery for Your Project

Presented by Karin Tuxen-Bettman

There is a lot of knowledge in satellite imagery, if only you had the power to use it! First we'll learn about Google Earth & Maps satellite imagery, and then we'll dive into Earth Engine, which is Google's geo analysis platform (and you don't need a ton of GIS, remote sensing, or coding experience to use it!) This session introduces some light concepts of remote sensing and image analysis, and introduces the Earth Engine platform and the tools available for browsing Earth Engine's data catalog and performing analyses on the data. This session is intended for first-time users of Earth Engine and newcomers to GIS and remote sensing. We will first focus on the Explorer, and will touch very briefly on the Code Editor at the end so you know where to go next. We'll also show how you can bring data from the field into Earth Engine for validation of a landcover classification. This session is intended to ramp beginners up to start using the power that Earth Engine brings to your project.

Prerequisites: None

EE 101

Presented by Allie Liieber

The Earth Engine API (application programming interface) provides the ability to create your own algorithms to process raster and vector imagery. This session is geared toward people who would like to analyze satellite and vector data. The session will be hands-on, using the Earth Engine Javascript code editor. This part of the class will focus on accessing imagery, creating composites, and running analyses over stacks of images.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with at least one software language, or at least not be afraid of learning as we go.

GOOGLE MAPPING FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS STREAM

Seeing is believing. You want to educate the public about an important issue and you think a map is key to understanding. These sessions are designed for attendees who don’t necessarily have a background in GIS, but want to make your organization’s data and maps more accessible and engaging for the public.

Create and Embed Maps for Your Website

Presented by Emily Henderson

In this session, you will learn how to use My Maps to create simple, collaborative maps on your desktop or mobile phone that can then be shared with the world. We will also practice importing spreadsheets and KML for more dynamic visualizations. This session is intended for first time users of My Maps, or users who would like a review of all the basic features and develop their skills.

Prerequisites: A Google account

Beyond the My Map: Easy visualizations with Fusion Tables

Presented by Vanessa Schneider

Looking to tell a visual story with your data? In this workshop, we’ll introduce you to Google Fusion Tables, a tool to help you host, visualize and publish your spreadsheet data as interactive maps for the web. The session will start with a brief overview of Fusion Tables and examples of how the tool’s being used for mapping. Then we’ll dive into demos to get you familiar with how easily your data can be turned into a visualization with impact.

Prerequisites: Make sure you have a Google account (https://accounts.google.com/signup) and are familiar with Google Drive.

Sharing Beautiful 3D Maps with Google Earth

Presented by: John Bailey

This session will assume that you have created a rich visualization in Google Earth that you wish to further beautify and share with the world. Methods to improve your map range from simple right-click and menu options, through to viewing the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) code and making changes directly. The focus on sharing will describe how to save KML, automatically tour your map, create videos and ways to share online.

Prerequisites: Google Earth pre-installed. Not be afraid to look at very simple KML code

Storytelling with Google Earth & Tour Builder

Presented by Karin Tuxen-Bettman

Google Earth is an excellent tool for telling your story, whether you're communicating with your board of directors, donors, research group, or the world! About 25% of this session will be learning how to perfect your flyovers in Google Earth, with different methods for creating flyovers for building tours in Google Earth. We'll then practice exporting a tour for upload to YouTube. The final 75% will focus on Tour Builder, which makes authoring different types of stories very easy.

Prerequisites: Absolutely none!

Collecting your own Street View: How to and Best Practices

Presented by John Bailey

Google Street View in Maps, Earth and App, provides access to over seven million miles of interactive 360-degree panoramas captured in over 75 countries, across all seven continents and in the world’s oceans. Learn how to explore this imagery and how to add your own images to the Street View archive using 360 cameras.

Prerequisites: Google Account and Street View app installed if you wish to use own device

Storytelling with Street View

Presented by John Bailey

Google Street View is a vast and diverse archive of geolocated 360 imagery, with unlimited potential for exploring and telling stories about the planet we live on. We will discuss different ways to interact with and engage others with this imagery, including exploring using Cardboard VR viewers and Google Expeditions, an application that takes viewers on virtual field trips in Street View.

Prerequisites: a Google account

Explore Satellite Imagery with Earth Engine

Presented by Chris Herwig

In this session, you'll learn how to use Earth Engine to find satellite imagery from the Landsat program and the European Space Agency's Sentinel program. You'll get a crash course on how to find what the right images for your needs, how to perform computations on it, and finally how to take the results with you for use outside of Earth Engine, including exporting vector and raster geodata as well as generating static map tiles for use with standard web map libraries.

Prerequisites: None

Tour our Changing Planet with Timelapse

Presented by Randy Sargent

Timelapse Earth builds on Earth Engine to show three decades of planetary change, both man-made and natural. In this session, you'll see hot spots of Earth change, learn how to embed Timelapse Earth into HTML materials, and also learn how to author guided tours to highlight particular phenomena on the animated planet.

Nonprofits have a unique opportunity to use social media to grow and scale their causes and donations online - but it can be an overwhelming and confusing space to navigate in! In this session, we will hear directly from Googlers who work on Earth and Maps marketing and social campaigns and learn about their approach to storytelling on a global scale. We will then have a panel of nonprofits that have flexed their social muscles, talk about tips and tricks to improve social outreach, and discuss how to think about different audience types (such as policy and decision makers, the next generation, and a broad audience).

Prerequisites: Absolutely none!

Visualizing Field Data

Presented by Tanya Birch

In this session, we'll use data already collected in the field and learn different options for visualizing that data and presenting it in a digestible format so decision-makers can take a quick look at the data and understand it.

Prerequisites: Absolutely none!

WORKFLOWS & APPLICATIONS

These sessions will give participants a glance at how Google mapping tools are powering various applications and workflows that support organizations addressing critical social and environmental issues.

Participatory Mapping with Google Earth

Presented by Raleigh Seamster and Steve DeRoy

When you're looking for geographic information about a place not found on mainstream or official maps, often your best source of data is the people who live there. Local people hold expert knowledge about their landscape which can be expressed on a map through participatory mapping methods. Join us for a demonstration and panel discussion of how organizations are incorporating Google tools into participatory mapping.

In this session, you'll learn some useful workflows for climate and sustainability scientists and practitioners. You will learn about several tools and get hands-on practice visualizing and downloading climate data from Earth Engine, Cal-Adapt.org, and other tools. You'll also walk through workflows for visualizing and interpreting solar energy data and information.

Prerequisites: none

Monitoring our Forests & Fishing

Presented by Brian Sullivan

In this session, you'll learn some useful workflows for scientists and practitioners who are monitoring forests, fishing and oceans. You will learn about several tools and get hands-on practice visualizing and downloading data from Global Fishing Watch, Global Forest Watch and other tools. You'll also walk through workflows for bringing forest data from Global Forest Watch into My Maps, and how to receive and respond to deforestation alerts via the Forest Watcher application powered by Global Forest Watch.

Prerequisites: none

Map Mashups & Publishing with Google Crisis Map

Presented by Christiaan Adams

Google Crisis Map is a powerful mashup tool which lets you easily set up, publish and share a Google Maps based site with many layers of data on the map. And it's not just for crisis work, it can be used for any non-profit maps! In this class we will explore several options for setting up a Crisis Map, and we'll try adding layers from many different data types and formats, including KML, GeoRSS, WMS, Tile-sets, and Fusion Tables. We will also explore the powerful mobile-friendly interface as well as the unique sharing tools.